The best method that I have found for organizing my coupons is a 3 ring binder method.
I have a 3 inch 3 ring binder that I have filled with baseball card holder sheets. This way I am able to flip through pages of coupons and see what I have quickly. I go through my binder every 2 weeks after the 15th and the end of the month to take out any expired coupons. These coupons can also be donated to military families for their use. For information about how to donate your expired coupons, click here. My notebook is divided up into the following sections so that it is easy to find my coupons:
* Baby
* Baking
* Beverage
* Bread
* Canned
* Cereal
* Cleaning
* Condiments
* Dairy
* Deodorant
* Feminine
* Freebies/rebates ***
* Frozen
* Hair
* Laundry
* Lotion
* Meat
* Oral Care
* Over the Counter/Medications
* Paper Plastic
* Pasta/Rice
* Pets, Shaving
* Salad Dressing
* Snacks
* Soap
* Store Coupons
I keep my restaurant coupons in an envelope at the front of my notebook because I have found that they do not fit well into my baseball card holders.
*** I have a freebies/rebates section because I want to make sure that I use these coupons. These items might not be on sale, but it does not matter because I can get them for free. Not all stores accept free coupons, so check your stores policies before attempting to use these.
At the front of the notebook, I have copies of the coupon policies for all of the stores that I frequent. This way if the cashier is not aware of the policy or does not want to take a coupon, I am able to show them the stores policy. Also, I am able to keep my sheets for the weekly coupon matchups I have done at the front of the notebook, you will find these matchups by clicking on grocery stores and drugstores at the top of the site. This way I don’t forget to use a coupon with an item on sale. Using this organization method I am able to save at least 85% on food and health and beauty items. Oftentimes, I even get money back when I have finished shopping because the coupons were a higher value than the items I purchased, or I am able to get a rebate on an item I purchased for free. It amazes me that with coupon organization, you can actaully be paid to buy items, but you really can! The important thing is to stay organized and treat your coupons like money. Bring them with you wherever you go. I hope these budget saving tips help!
I have upgraded my budget saving coupon notebook since this post.
Here are a few of the changes that I made:
I previously posted pictures and an explanation about my coupon notebook. I have since come up with a couple more ideas that seem to be working even better for me. To see my original post click here.
Now, I have a trapper keeper instead of a 3 ring binder. I love this because I can zip it up, and it has a handle. This is so helpful with 3 kids in tow! Also, I am able to keep my scissors in there. At the front is an accordian style plastic storage area where I have put all of my store policies for any crabby cashiers I may encounter along the way. At the front is an area that zips up and I put in my envelopes with the coupons that I have pulled for particular stores. I LOVE ORGANIZATION!
I actually divided up my coupons into 2 notebooks now. One for food items and the other for non food items. I may go back to one at some point, but for now, I love my notebooks being light and easier to juggle with kids. This is not as practical as my one huge notebook, but in the store, it sure has made my life easier.
Also, one more tip – – – Make sure you put your name and contact info in your notebook. These notebooks do take some time to put together and we all know that coupons are like money so you definitely want to get it back if you lose it.
I have a question on something you said. You said you go through you coupons every 2 weeks and take out the expired coupons. you also said you can donate them to military families. How is it that you can donate expired coupons to them to use if they are expired? Are they able to use expired coupons?
What a great question. I need to post about that. You can go to http://www.ocpnet.org/base_list.htm There you can adopt a base. They will accept coupons for military and families who are serving overseas. Once you adopt a base, you just mail off your coupons that are expired. They would like to receive coupons that are only 2 months expired even though they can be used longer than that. The reason they only want ones that are 2 months or less past their expiration date is because it does take time for them to be sorted and received. I am so glad you asked me that question. I will do a post for everyone with a few more details. I think it is great that we can give back in a small way to those that are serving our country. Thanks for reading my blog and please let me know if you have any more questions.
What does it mean when its says: Limit one coupon per purchase. So if I have two of the same item I use that coupon. But say I have two of the same item but two of the same coupon could I purchase both in one transaction????
One coupon per item is what it means. Sometimes stores will limit two of the same item and coupon per transaction, meaning you could only buy 2 of the same item and use two of the same coupons. However, if you have different types of coupons for the same items, you could use as many as you have items for. Hope that makes sense! Rene
hello- i am new to the couponing and already discouraged. Everytime i click on freebies it sends me to another web page over andover again. What am I doing wrong???
Hi, Donna,
I am sorry that you are getting discouraged. I am not sure what freebies link you are referring to. I have a section at the top of my site labeled Free, and you can click here to get to that link: http://budgetsavingmom.com/category/freebies/
You can then click on the brown titles to get to each individual post. I hope that that helps! Rene
Where can I find one of the Trapper Keeper binders you are using?
Melissa, I bought mine years ago at Costco, but you can find them at office supply stores or Target as well. Hope that helps! Rene
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You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this topic to be really something which I think I would never understand. It seems too complex and very broad for me. I’m looking forward for your next post, I will try to get the hang of it!